News Update - 26 November

With our recent trip to WA, we've been keeping up with email but not posting all the news on the website...

Euthanasia

South Australia
In a miraculous turnaround, the euthanasia bill in the South Australian Parliament was defeated 11-9 when Liberal Leader changed his vote and voted against the bill at the final reading. He said that his mother had died during the previous week and he could no longer support the legislation.

Media Reports:
Change of heart sinks euthanasia bill - ABC Online - ‎19 Nov, 2009
Euthanasia Bill Unexpectedly Defeated in South Australia - Lifesite
SA parliament rejects euthanasia bill - Sydney Morning Herald

Western Australia
Greens MP Robin Chapple announced his intention to introduce his euthanasia bill last week - at this stage it hasn't had its second reading.
It appears now that the Bill will not be debated until 2010.
Read his media release: click here.

Vic - SARC Report

The Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee has handed its Report, concerning exemptions and exceptions in Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act, to the Victorian Parliament.

Two key areas that Attorney General Rob Hulls has insisted be changed or removed have been keenly opposed by Christians and lovers of liberty.

The first relates to men-only clubs and women-only clubs. . . 
Hulls wants them to have to apply for an exception or to have to include people of both sexes.
The clubs maintained that they should have whoever they like as members! We agree!

The Committee said the private clubs should have 'freedom of association' as noted in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, and continue to have single-sex clubs if they wish!

Religious exceptions
Regarding the religious exceptions and exemptions in the Act, the Committee recommended that some grounds be removed...
However on the remaining grounds - which include sex, sexual orientation and marital status - they did not impose the idea of core and non-core areas of faith which Rob Hulls did a month ago.

This was a reasonably good outcome - and shows that the compromise agreement reached by the Catholic Church and some others was not only unnecessary but dangerous!

Now we need to ensure that the government follows the ruling of the SARC Committee on religious exceptions and NOT the wishes of Mr Hulls.

Read the SARC Report:
Full Report(548 KB, pdf)

SARC Inquiry page - the individual sections of the Report can be obtained - scroll to bottom of the Inquiry page.

Liberal MP Inga Peulich gave an excellent Minority Report.